Girl Charlee is having a Summer Clearance Sale with adorable items up to 80% off. Check it out.

Gymboree is having a Back to School Sale with savings of up to 40% off on kids sizes 3-12.

Enjoy drinking tea but find yourself oversteeping your tea bags too often (that’s me)? Brew the perfect cup of tea each time with the Penguin Teaboy (via Boing Boing). It’s cute and a great item for office life. How does it work? You slip the teabag over it’s beak, set the timer, and it lowers its beak for the set amount of time. Great gift idea. Price: on sale now for $18.98 at Signals (regularly $29.95).

The Portland Ikea just opened this past week. I’m planning on dropping in Monday or Tuesday to check out the fuss (and the meatballs).

Check this out: The Oslo, Norway Ikea will be operating a hostel on site to host sleepovers for shoppers!

Later this month, Ikea Norway will let shoppers sleep overnight in one of its two Oslo warehouses, an operation that will last a week. “It will be like an alternative hostel,” said company spokesman Frode Ullebust.

“There will be the regular dormitory with lots of beds stacked up together. We will also have a bridal suite, with a round bed and a hanging chandelier, and the luxury suite, where customers can enjoy breakfast in bed,” he said. Family rooms will also be available for parents and children to join into the Ikea fun. None of the guests will be charged for their stay.

Mr Ullebust said that, as far as he knew, this was Ikea’s first foray into the hotel business. Every night, the 30 lucky few will be able to stack up on meatballs, Norwegian salmon and cranberry mousse, as Ikea is offering free dinner and breakfast at the usual canteen.

Crazy.

(via Boing Boing)

Click smaller images above to view larger images

Since Pooky’s started walking, I definitely need my hands free to chase after her, and it can get annoying with a bulky diaper bag in the way. When I’m not planning on carrying Pooky on my back in one of my carriers, I grab for a backpack diaper bag, and the Bumblebags Madeline provides the perfect amount of space and organization.

The Madeline backpack diaper bag from Bumblebags is a super lightweight bag made of fabric that’s smooth, soft, and stain and water resistant. It comes in 12 fun fabric designs and has pop-out stroller straps that easily attach to your stroller. I love the size of this bag because it’s not huge and overbearing but it still has enough space to stuff in a lot of items. It has two exterior side bottle pockets as well as two additional side pockets on the inside that’s perfect for additional bottles or snack and drink cups. It also has a front slip pocket and a large back zipper pocket for storing items away from the main compartment. There’s a pocket on each side of the interior of the bag, one which is zippered. The bright red lining on the Rosey Stripe bag we have makes it so easy to find what you’re looking for quickly. The wide backpack shoulder straps are comfy and easy to slip on and off.

This is a wonderful backpack diaper bag that’s perfect when you want something functional as well as stylish. Price: $116 at various retailers.

Pooky’s hair is growing and, as expected, my flat, straight hair and Josh’s tight, curly hair have created Pooky’s bouncy, soft curls. I’m really looking forward to a time when she’ll let me put hair clips in her hair again instead of pulling them out every time I put them in.

Hair clips from Ribbies Hair Clippies are simple and elegant. These Ribbies Clippies come in lots of fun designs and stay put with a grippy foam strip. A note of caution: the underside part of the clip isn’t covered with the ribbon all the way, exposing a blunt tip and making these more appropriate for older toddlers and up. Price: $8 per pair at Ribbies Hair Clippies.

Here’s one in honor of all the Harry Potter craze.

(via Boing Boing)

Nina and Tom are having a 25% Off Everything Back-to-School Sale July 16- August 20, 2007.

The promo code for the discount is: back07

In general, we believe that the less TV Pooky watches, the better. While it’s often tempting to pawn her off on Elmo when she’s cranky, we’re trying to avoid the trap of using the TV as a pacifier. So far, I think we’re doing an okay job. That being said, one of the most useful baby products we’ve come across involves sitting Pooky in front of the tube. Pooky is actively using her brain when she watches Baby Signing Time; we can almost see the little wheels turning in her head.

We started using sign language with Pooky even before getting these videos, and found it to be incredibly useful. Through signing, she was able to communicate her basic needs clearly and quickly, allowing us to respond and avert many major meltdowns. That fact alone made signing with baby worthwhile. Still, by the time the Baby Signing Time videos arrived, we were nearing a point of diminishing returns. Since neither of us speak sign language, and since we didn’t have a ton of time to research signs to teach her or a systematic approach to expanding her sign language vocabulary, we were kinda stuck.

What Baby Signing Time offers is an easy way for baby and parents to learn together. The lessons are all song-based, and each centers around a different theme. For example, one song covers food and drink, and includes the signs “eat,” “drink,” “banana,” “cracker,” “cereal,” “water,” “milk,” “juice,” and “finished.” After a few viewing sessions, Pooky has actually learned each of these and uses them regularly. Other songs cover family members, animals, transportation, clothes, owies, please-thank you-sorry, and bed time.

The songs are so catchy, and so effective, that as soon as baby hears the opening bars she gets excited and starts signing. When we play the accompanying CDs in the car, she’ll sign along as well. Even if she’s in a particularly cranky mood, she’ll calm right down and focus on the songs. She has even started trying to sing along, which she hasn’t done with any other music. It’s amazing to see her open up to new ideas.

The result of all this has been a deeper, more rewarding level of communication with Pooky. To see beyond her immediate needs and into her idle thoughts (she’ll even sign absent-mindedly as she daydreams) is pretty awesome. Communication between us now flows much more easily in both directions, and we love it.

Baby Signing Time is a two-DVD set that can be purchased, separately or together, with or without the accompanying CDs, at the Baby Signing Time website. Prices: Entire set for $49.99; one DVD + CD for $28.99; one DVD for $19.99; one CD for $9.99.

Click smaller images above to view larger images

The Holly Aiken Airship Diaper Bag is a perfect size for daily use with enough room for you to pack all you’ll need for a day outing with baby. Messenger bags aren’t my favorites these days because the large flap tends to get in the way of getting to what you need easily. I found this to be the major drawback of the Airship design. The bag is made of a sturdy (but bulky) vinyl material which makes the flap that much more cumbersome.

What it does have going for it, though, is the simple, understated design that doesn’t cry out “diaper bag.” The adjustable strap is wide and comfortable, and it has exterior and interior pockets for organizing all your baby stuff. It also comes in dad-friendly color schemes. Price: $174 at Holly Aiken.